Between friends. - A follow-up.

Netsch Hopes To Get Legislators To Pass Ethics Reform This Time

February 12, 1993|By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune.

SPRINGFIELD — Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch on Thursday joined the chorus of political voices calling for reform in Illinois government, offering the most sweeping proposals yet in a year full of them.

But if history is any guide, the proposals will be short-lived. Over the last decade, 80 of the 81 ethics reform bills introduced in the General Assembly met a quick death due to the opposition of special-interest groups and lawmakers who rely on their contributions to finance their campaigns.

"Do we know we can pass this legislation? Of course we don't know," said Netsch, who has proposed such reforms since her days as a Democratic state senator.

"We won't know until we try. But if no one tries, nothing happens around here," she said.

Netsch's package joins those proposed by a group of House Democrats and Republican Secretary of State George Ryan. A legislative task force led by Auditor General William Holland is studying new state purchasing guidelines.

GOP Gov. Jim Edgar is expected to launch his own proposals, and other lawmakers have plans on the drawing board.

The proposals come in the wake of the Tribune's series "Between Friends" and other articles that documented how contracts have replaced jobs as a way to reward political insiders in a new era of patronage.

"Sponsoring bills is nice, but we're looking at outcomes," said Tracy Litsey, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause of Illinois.

"I don't complain about people's motives in supporting ethics," she said. "Perhaps the attention from virtually every state constitutional office will put the screws on the General Assembly to finally pass something."

Netsch said she believes the timing might be right this year, given the near 40 percent legislative turnover in the 1992 election.

"There are a lot of new people there," she said. "Many of them came in on this sort of wave of public turnoff and public cynicism and public demand that people who are in public office behave better. Hopefully, they'll be reflecting that."

Netsch's proposal would prohibit state officers and employees from having a significant financial interest in state business; prevent state employees from any business transaction related to their work for two years after they leave government; and require more detailed reporting by lobbyists.

It also would limit spending and create a mechanism to partially finance gubernatorial campaigns; limit campaign contributions; prohibit honorariums to state officials or employees; and create an ethics panel to investigate and impose penalties.

Her proposal also would move the March primary to September.

A group of House Democrats has proposed a $1,000 limit on campaign contributions from individuals or businesses that can receive a state contract.

Their proposal also would restore to $5,000 the current $25,000 limit on no-bid purchases, passed last year. Competitive bidding would also be required for large contracts such as legal services and leases.

Ryan's proposal would expand the state's lobbyist law by re-quiring the registration of anyone who lobbies any statewide official for legislation, contracts or business, and reveal what they spent. It also would require lobbyists to disclose family members who have state jobs.

Litsey said she believes there is a general public dissatisfaction with business-as-usual at the Statehouse, citing the growing call for term limitations and the grass-roots support generated by Ross Perot's presidential candidacy.

"People know something's wrong, something's rotten in the Capitol. Are a lot of them educated about it and can articulate the finer points of campaign contribution law? Probably not. But I think people do want the system changed."